Modal Verbs Poder, Voler, and Saber in Catalan

In Brief

Use poder + infinitive for “can” or “be able to,” voler + infinitive for “want to,” and saber + infinitive for “know how to.” The infinitive is the unchanged dictionary form of a verb: Puc entrar? (“Can I come in?”), Vull descansar (“I want to rest”), and Sé conduir (“I know how to drive”). All three verbs are irregular in the present tense.

Overview

Poder, voler, and saber let you talk about what is possible, what someone wants, and what someone knows how to do. They often act as modal verbs: verbs that add an idea such as ability, permission, or desire to another verb. In Vull aprendre, for example, vull expresses desire and aprendre names the desired action.

This pattern is introduced at A1 because it immediately expands what you can say. With one conjugated modal and an infinitive, you can ask permission, offer help, make plans, order food, and describe practical skills. Catalan usually leaves out the subject pronoun when the verb form already makes the subject clear, so Puc parlar català is more natural in a neutral context than Jo puc parlar català.

English uses “can” both for learned skills and for present ability. Catalan can make a useful distinction: saber + infinitive points to knowing how to do something, while poder + infinitive points to being able or allowed to do it in the circumstances. Compare Sé nedar, però avui no puc nedar — “I know how to swim, but I can’t swim today.”

How It Works

The beginner pattern

The basic structure is:

conjugated modal + infinitive

Only the first verb changes to match the subject. The second verb stays in the infinitive:

• Puc parlar. — I can speak.
• Vols menjar? — Do you want to eat?
• Sabem cuinar. — We know how to cook.

Do not insert a preposition such as a or de between these verbs. Unlike English “want to learn,” Catalan simply says voler aprendre.

Present tense of poder

Poder expresses ability, permission, or possibility. Its nearest English equivalents are “can,” “may,” and “be able to.”

Person	Catalan form	Basic meaning
jo	puc	I can
tu	pots	you can
ell / ella / vostè	pot	he / she can; you can (formal)
nosaltres	podem	we can
vosaltres	podeu	you all can
ells / elles / vostès	poden	they can; you all can (formal)

The singular forms change their stem: puc, pots, pot. The plural forms podem and podeu are closer to the infinitive.

Use poder for:

• ability in a situation: Avui puc treballar des de casa. — Today I can work from home.
• permission: Puc seure aquí? — May I sit here?
• possibility: Pot ploure aquesta tarda. — It may rain this afternoon.

Present tense of voler

Voler expresses desire or intention. It can be followed by an infinitive or by a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea).

Person	Catalan form	Basic meaning
jo	vull	I want
tu	vols	you want
ell / ella / vostè	vol	he / she wants; you want (formal)
nosaltres	volem	we want
vosaltres	voleu	you all want
ells / elles / vostès	volen	they want; you all want (formal)

Use voler + infinitive for an action: Volem visitar Girona (“We want to visit Girona”). Use voler + noun for a thing: Vols un cafè? (“Do you want a coffee?”).

Present tense of saber

Saber expresses knowledge. With an infinitive, it normally means to have learned how to perform an action.

Person	Catalan form	Basic meaning
jo	sé	I know
tu	saps	you know
ell / ella / vostè	sap	he / she knows; you know (formal)
nosaltres	sabem	we know
vosaltres	sabeu	you all know
ells / elles / vostès	saben	they know; you all know (formal)

Remember the written accent in sé. With another verb, use saber + infinitive: Sé fer pa (“I know how to make bread”). Saber can also take information directly: Sé la resposta (“I know the answer”) or Sé que és aquí (“I know that it is here”).

Statements, negatives, and questions

Put no immediately before the conjugated modal:

• No puc venir. — I can’t come.
• No volem esperar. — We don’t want to wait.
• No sap llegir en català. — He or she cannot read Catalan / does not know how to read Catalan.

To make a yes-or-no question, Catalan normally keeps the same word order and uses question intonation and question marks. It does not add an equivalent of English “do”:

• Pots ajudar-me? — Can you help me?
• Vol venir? — Does he or she want to come? / Do you want to come? (formal)
• Sabeu ballar sardanes? — Do you all know how to dance sardanes?

Object pronouns with the two-verb pattern

An object pronoun is a short word that stands for the person or thing affected by an action, as “me” does in “help me.” With a modal plus an infinitive, Catalan commonly allows two positions:

• before the conjugated modal: Em pots ajudar?
• attached to the infinitive: Pots ajudar-me?

Both mean “Can you help me?” The same choice appears in Ho vull comprar and Vull comprar-ho (“I want to buy it”). The spelling changes when a pronoun attaches to the infinitive, so learn the whole phrase as a unit at first.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Puc ajudar-te?	Can I help you?	An offer; the pronoun is attached to the infinitive.
No podem venir demà.	We can’t come tomorrow.	Circumstantial inability.
Pots obrir la finestra?	Can you open the window?	A common informal request.
Aquí es pot pagar amb targeta.	You can pay by card here.	Impersonal es pot: what is possible or permitted.
Pot ploure al vespre.	It may rain in the evening.	Poder expresses possibility.
Vull aprendre català.	I want to learn Catalan.	Voler + infinitive.
Vols un cafè?	Do you want a coffee?	Voler + noun; also a natural offer.
Volem anar al mercat dissabte.	We want to go to the market on Saturday.	The subject is clear from volem.
No vol parlar-ne ara.	He or she doesn’t want to talk about it now.	-ne is attached to the infinitive.
Saps cuinar?	Do you know how to cook?	A question about a learned skill.
Sé parlar català, però encara cometo errors.	I can speak Catalan, but I still make mistakes.	Literally, “I know how to speak Catalan.”
La Júlia sap tocar el piano.	Júlia knows how to play the piano.	Learned ability.
Sabeu on és l’estació?	Do you know where the station is?	Saber introduces a piece of information.
Sé nedar, però avui no puc nedar.	I know how to swim, but I can’t swim today.	Contrasts know-how with present ability.
No sé què vol dir aquesta paraula.	I don’t know what this word means.	voler dir is the fixed expression “to mean.”

Common Mistakes

Treating the verbs as regular

• Wrong: Jo podo venir. / Jo volo menjar. / Jo sabo cuinar.
• Right: Puc venir. / Vull menjar. / Sé cuinar.
• Why: The first-person singular forms are irregular: puc, vull, sé. Memorize them together rather than trying to build them from a regular ending.

Adding a preposition before the infinitive

• Wrong: Vull a aprendre català.
• Right: Vull aprendre català.
• Why: Poder, voler, and saber connect directly to the infinitive in this pattern. English “to” in “want to learn” is not translated as a.

Conjugating both verbs

• Wrong: Podem venim demà.
• Right: Podem venir demà.
• Why: Only the modal agrees with the subject. The following action remains in its infinitive form: venir.

Using poder when you mean learned know-how

• Less precise: Puc tocar el piano when you mean that you have learned the skill.
• Better: Sé tocar el piano.
• Why: Saber + infinitive focuses on knowing how. Poder + infinitive often means that circumstances, permission, or physical conditions make the action possible. Avui no puc tocar el piano can mean you are unable to play today even though you know how.

Translating every English “know” with saber

• Wrong: Sé la Marta.
• Right: Conec la Marta.
• Why: Use conèixer for being acquainted with a person or familiar with a place. Use saber for facts, answers, and know-how: Sé qui és la Marta (“I know who Marta is”).

Putting no before the infinitive

• Wrong: Puc no venir demà when the intended meaning is “I can’t come tomorrow.”
• Right: No puc venir demà.
• Why: To negate the ability or possibility, put no before the conjugated modal. Puc no venir is grammatical in a different, less common meaning: “I can choose not to come.”

Usage Notes

Poder for permission and polite requests

Puc...? is the normal way to ask permission for yourself: Puc entrar? (“May I come in?”). Pots...? often functions as a request: Pots parlar més a poc a poc? (“Can you speak more slowly?”). As in English, context and tone determine whether the question is about literal ability or is a request.

For a general rule rather than a particular person’s ability, es pot + infinitive is very useful: Es pot aparcar aquí? means “Can you park here?” or “Is parking allowed here?”

Voler in offers and requests

Questions with voler are natural for offers: Vols aigua? (“Would you like water?”). A plain Vull... clearly states a desire, but it can sound abrupt when ordering from a stranger. Add si us plau or use a later polite form such as Voldria un cafè, si us plau (“I’d like a coffee, please”).

Catalan distinguishes informal singular tu, informal plural vosaltres, and formal vostè/vostès. The formal pronouns use third-person forms: Vostè pot passar and Vostès volen seure? Subject pronouns are often omitted, but stating vostè can clarify formal address.

Saber versus conèixer

The English verb “know” covers several relationships that Catalan usually separates:

Meaning	Catalan choice	Example
know how to do something	saber + infinitive	Sé conduir. — I know how to drive.
know a fact or answer	saber	Sap l’adreça. — He or she knows the address.
be acquainted with a person	conèixer	Coneixem en Pau. — We know Pau.
be familiar with a place	conèixer	Coneixes Tarragona? — Do you know Tarragona?

This distinction is more important than finding a one-word translation for English “know.” First ask whether you mean information, know-how, or familiarity.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master the following forms at A1, but they are frequent and show how these three verbs develop beyond the basic present-tense pattern.

Polite and hypothetical forms

The conditional forms podria, voldria, and sabria correspond roughly to “could,” “would like/want,” and “would know.” They soften requests or describe hypothetical situations:

• Podries ajudar-me? — Could you help me?
• Voldria reservar una taula. — I’d like to book a table.
• No sabria explicar-ho. — I wouldn’t know how to explain it.

In the past, podia, volia, and sabia often describe an ongoing ability, desire, or state of knowledge: Quan era petit, no sabia nedar (“When I was little, I didn’t know how to swim”).

When the two actions have different subjects

The simple infinitive pattern normally works when one person both wants and performs the action: Vull sortir (“I want to leave”). When one person wants somebody else to act, Catalan uses voler que + subjunctive. The subjunctive is a special verb form used here for a desired action:

• Vull que vinguis. — I want you to come.
• Volem que els nens dormin. — We want the children to sleep.

This belongs to a later stage of study. At A1, keep the reliable contrast Vull venir (“I want to come”) versus the more advanced Vull que vinguis (“I want you to come”).

Frequent expressions with wider meanings

These verbs also appear in expressions whose meaning is not fully predictable from the beginner pattern:

• voler dir — to mean: Què vol dir això? (“What does this mean?”)
• sense voler — accidentally, unintentionally: Ho he fet sense voler. (“I did it accidentally.”)
• pot ser — it may be / it is possible: Pot ser veritat. (“It may be true.”)
• no pot ser! — that can’t be! / no way!
• saber greu — to be sorry or feel bad about something: Em sap greu. (“I’m sorry.”)

Treat these as complete expressions. In particular, Em sap greu is not a literal statement about knowing.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-way contrasts. Choose an activity and make a sentence with each verb: Sé cuinar (I know how), Avui puc cuinar (it is possible today), and Vull cuinar (I want to). This trains meaning as well as conjugation.
2. Drill the irregular forms in short questions. Cycle through Puc...? Pots...? Podem...?, then do the same with voler and saber. Answer aloud without adding subject pronouns.
3. Practice pronoun placement in pairs. Say both Em pots ajudar? and Pots ajudar-me? or Ho vull comprar and Vull comprar-ho. Start with a few common phrases rather than trying to memorize every pronoun rule at once.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Common Irregular Verbs — introduces the high-frequency irregular present-tense forms these patterns build on.
• Next step: Basic Weak Pronouns — explains forms such as em, ho, and -te and where they go around verbs.
• Later development: Present Subjunctive — needed for patterns such as Vull que vinguis.
• Later development: Verbal Periphrases — broadens the two-verb pattern to expressions such as haver de, acabar de, and tornar a.